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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679500">My Sister</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pugtato/pseuds/pugtato'>pugtato</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Girl with a Pearl Earring - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drabble, Gen, Narrative Intervention</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:35:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>619</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679500</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pugtato/pseuds/pugtato</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Agnes sees her sister in the markets.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>My Sister</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/if_its_purple/gifts">if_its_purple</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun shone down on glistening canal water, light refracted and reflected across the wind-buffeted waves. Houses stood warm and unassuming along the cobble pathways, and overlooked the deep water. A smile decorated Agnes’ face as she skipped along the canal, led towards the sound of hustle and bustle. She gasped as she saw a distant kite hovering playfully over Market Square, and her pace increased as she giggled in awe. Her feet pounded on the cobblestone as she ran towards the excited buzz of the market. </p>
<p>“Oh!” the young girl gasped, as she passed through the entranceway. A myriad of colours greeted her as she passed by stall after stall. There were those selling thick, lavish cloth, deep azure and vivid scarlet, yellows and oranges as blinding as the sun. Other stalls sold meat and fish, straight from the Beast Market. Horses attached to horse drawn stalls snorted and snuffled out misty breaths, their steel shoes ringing against the cobblestone. </p>
<p>Agnes sighed as she saw other young girls who ran around the marketplace, accompanied by elder sisters. She thought back to Griet at her new house. After Frans had left, Agnes had sulked for days, and missed her brother fiercely. She had never known a time when her siblings were not there, never known that there would be a time she couldn’t be with them. After Frans’ departure, Agnes had grown more and more attached to Griet. Griet was her role model, her emotional support, her best friend, the one she could most relate to in the family. But now, both Frans and Griet had both left.</p>
<p>As she adventured through the market, she was reminded her siblings everywhere she went. The butchers’ stalls, where Frans chased her pretending to have animal blood on his hands, and Griet scolded him as Agnes screamed and hid behind her. Griet and Agnes imagining lavish and colourful dresses on themselves, and acting as if they were upper-class women. She released another sigh before straightening up resolutely – she was determined to enjoy the market even without her siblings, despite the constant ache of loneliness in her heart. </p>
<p>As she entered the heart of the market, her eyes skimmed the bustling crowds, before a distant figure caught her eye. A woman, hair entirely obscured by a white cap, stood as she inspected the produce of a fish stall. Next to her, a girl of her age held the woman’s hand, taking in the marketplace with child-like wonder. Agnes snuck closer and gasped, and a wave of cold hurt washed over her. It was her older sister, Griet, who stood across the marketplace from her. Agnes’ eyes locked on the younger girl, gaze narrow and calculating. Had Griet replaced her with this other girl? Did she no longer want Agnes as a younger sister?</p>
<p>As Griet turned away from the stall, fish in hand, their gazes locked. Griet’s face hardened, and she shook her head, and her gaze cut away from Agnes. Shock pierced Agnes’ heart as she backed away, as her gaze lingered Griet and the younger girl until they were out of sight, where she spun and ran out of the market. Tears welled up in her eyes as she darted along the canal she entered beside, the translucent water glistening the same as her tears. </p>
<p>She felt betrayed. Did Griet not think she was good enough anymore? Had she gone to this new house, this new job, and seen some little girl Agnes’ age and decided she was better than Agnes? Her vision shuttered as she tried to blink away tears, curling up next to the canal as shuddering gasps overcame her body. She felt more alone than she ever had.</p>
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